orphne: (Kotone 44)
Kotone "sleepy bitch disease" Shiomi ([personal profile] orphne) wrote in [community profile] expiationlogs2024-03-01 07:53 am

[open/mingle] a light in the darkness

Who: any and everyone!
Where: astralin's farmhouse
What: mingle log for post-blackout!
Warnings: y'all tell me, please be good and don't break the house :(

If she hadn't been at the party, Kotone wouldn't have even known about the extent of the blackout. Sure, it's inconvenient, considering a lot of the lights are electric, and the fridge is, of course, powered by electricity as well, but the farmhouse she'd taken over from Astralin is an older and more traditional building. The main heat sources are the fireplaces strategically placed throughout the building -- a large one in the living space, a smaller one in the kitchen along with a wood-burning stove, and another large central one upstairs to help heat the bedrooms -- and the geothermal hot springs on the land. With the cold weather and snow on the ground, it's easy to take the food from the fridge and leave it outside in a locked box away from wild animals, but aside from the inconvenience of resorting to the candles and lanterns that were stockpiled in the basement, the farmhouse itself survives relatively unscathed!

Therefore, not long after the blast, Kotone sends a video message over the (charm) network inviting anyone who wants to take shelter from the cold, or even just cook some food, to come to Astralin's farmhouse on the edge of town for as long as they want or need.

She won't even make anyone help out on the farm. Probably!

1. Rural Snapshot

Power might go out, but life on the farm doesn't stop for something like that! The old wood stoves in the barn need to be cleaned up and made ready for use to keep the animals warm, and the animals still need to be taken care of. Goats, sheep, cows, chickens (a particularly big and brave one has the tiniest leather collar and a tag that says her name is "Scramble," and her friends Benedict and Sunny aren't far behind. They are Not For Eating (though their eggs are!))

Kotone won't make anyone help her with the farm chores of cleaning the barn, feeding the animals, or generally keeping things up and running, but she definitely won't turn down the help, either, giving pointers so the new folk don't completely muck it up (sometimes literally).

With the snow and general chill, there's not much to do with the crops themselves. Everyone is safe from the fields for now!

2. Potluck and BYOB (chef's recommendation: hot cocoa)

The farmhouse is not the inn -- Kotone has some food prepped and stored, with preserves from the fall harvest one of the key features, but it's not meant to feed the whole town. Thus, Kotone's going to request that anyone coming to stay at the farmhouse bring either raw ingredients or something they've made to share with any other hapless souls. Feel free to use the kitchen to cook, or get some help from someone else with cooking!

The wood-burning stove in the kitchen is perfect for heating up cocoa or wine, and there's room to get close with someone in front of any of the fireplaces. Like, it's encouraged to get close. It's a big farmhouse, but not that big. Make a friend! Share some warmth! The couches are cozy and comfortable, and if someone dozes off, well, Kotone won't be the one waking anyone up.

If someone would prefer to sleep in a bed, there are some bedrooms upstairs! One is, of course, sharing the room with plants. They're benign, normal plants, from potted flowers to hanging vines, but they are everywhere. Kotone herself doesn't have much of a green thumb other than keeping the plants watered and in view of sunlight, but the plants themselves seem to be flourishing throughout the farmhouse either way. It's almost as if someone (Astralin) had used magic to keep them growing strong and healthy, even indoors.

Oh, and speaking of sharing, again, the farmhouse isn't the inn. Expect to be sharing a space with someone else. Maybe a few people! Cozy up and make a new friend. It's better than freezing to death, right?

3. Hot Springs Episode

There are natural hot springs on the farmland that have been developed to mimic a Japanese onsen in places. The air might be cold and dark, but there are candles and lanterns around the springs to light it, and the water is nice and warm, perfect for those chill nights.

There are rules posted -- namely, clean yourself before going to soak -- and while there are separate bathing spaces for genders, Kotone doesn't really care too much about mixed bathing as long as everyone is respectful about it. Others may not be so casual about it, though, so one has to venture across at their own risk!

[ooc: This is a mingle! Feel free to use these prompts as inspiration or make your own. The only request I have is not to completely destroy the farmhouse or harm the animals -- anything else, go wild!]
snowslip: (hs1)

2b

[personal profile] snowslip 2024-03-04 09:37 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Marianne had been coming by the farm to help look after Astralin's chocobos in his absence, and she is quietly overjoyed to see him return. She has always had a quiet presence, and today as well, she had intended to quietly depart after seeing that his animals were sprightly as could be and Astralin was settling in smoothly. However, her presence doesn't go unnoticed. ]

Oh, um. I suppose if it's not a bother...

(ooc: we've not threaded but marianne is friends with astralin and has been helping out too! would you like to handwave that they know each other? )
snowslip: (hs0)

awesome!

[personal profile] snowslip 2024-03-08 10:32 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Kotone's smile has the kind of warmth to it that makes Marianne feel at ease, and also makes it hard to refuse her. She moves over to the chair, sitting with her legs together and her hands in her lap, not taking up much space. She's not so good with conversation, but the subject of animals is one she can talk at length about. ]

They're doing well. I can tell they're happy to see Astralin again. How is Scramble?
snowslip: (hs7)

[personal profile] snowslip 2024-03-12 10:44 pm (UTC)(link)
[ There's something different about Kotone's smile that Marianne can't parse. She's never been good at reading people. For a long time, she had trouble even meeting their eyes. Even so, she can say for sure that Kotone's expression brightens when she talks about the local menace. ]

That sounds like Scramble alright.

[ Marianne replies with a giggle, one hand over her mouth. ]

Of course. I'd be most happy to. What made you want to learn?
snowslip: (hs0)

[personal profile] snowslip 2024-03-21 11:17 pm (UTC)(link)
Not at all. Or, well, I suppose it depends on who you ask. The temperament of the horse can make a difference, as well as your bond with them.

[ Marianne backtracks a little. Maybe it's just her, but she's never found working with horses to be difficult. It was some of the most relaxing parts of her day in fact, and one of the few classes she looked forward to during her time at the monastery. Having spent so much time with them since she was a withdrawn child who fared better with animals than people, she's become adept at reading their feelings in every stomp of their foot or shake of their mane. ]